A new parenting trend that sees babies as young as newborns go without diapers has been taking the U.S. by storm.

The method, known as 'elimination communication', or EC, requires infants to learn to signal when they need to use the bathroom - though the teaching method, it seems, can get quite messy.

Regardless, DNAinfo.com reports that it is becoming increasingly popular with parents looking to rein in finances and keep babies' bottoms rash-free.

Nature's call: The diaper-free method of potty training known as elimination communication is becoming increasingly popular with parents looking to rein in finances and keep babies' bottoms rash-free (stock image)

Kaitlin McGreyes from Astoria, New York, who started practicing EC with her nine-month-old son Cesar as a newborn, says she saved money by buying fewer diapers, but she got 'peed and pooped on a lot.'

In a bid to keep things clean she said: 'At two weeks old I set up a little Tupperware container near our diaper-changing station.

'When I was nursing him, he had a big fart and I rushed him to the potty and held him over it.'

The eventual aim with EC is for parents to read their children’s body language and enable them to urinate and defecate in an appropriate place.

'In New York no one cares what you are doing. You can hold your baby to pee pretty muchanywhere'

To cue the action they are advised to make 'peeing' sounds.

One of the benefits of going diaper-free for some mothers is that it eliminates the chance of a rash.

Pardis Partow, 41, from Brooklyn, NewYork, also decided to try EC with her one-year-old son, Parker, after he developed diaper rash.

Like Mrs McGreyes she learned that there are frequent 'misses'.

'I kept seeing him leave a trail of pee. The dog looked at me and said, "This isn’t fair. Why can he do that?"' she recalled.

Alternative method: Pardis Partow, 41, from Brooklyn, New York, decided to give her year-old son, Parker, some diaper-free time at home after he developed diaper rash

MostEC advocates do not go diaper-free 100per cent of the time, though and many choose to use cloth covers or wipes when they leave the house for convenience or during the night.

Sarah Longwell-Stevens, an early childhood educator and postpartum doula, who has been using the method with her one-year-old daughter, believes living in New York City has itsadvantages for EC practitioners.

'In New York no one cares what you are doing,' she said. 'You can hold your baby to pee pretty muchanywhere. Especially since few people would have any idea what you aredoing.'

Indeed, Marija Mikolajczak told DNAinfo that she did EC everywhere she went in Manhattan with her son, now six.

'Wewould get off the subway, I would take him into the toilet. [Sometimes] it was hard to find a public bathroom in NewYork.'

'I’ve not owned a dog in the city, but I can relate,' she said, adding that at parks andplaygrounds she would find 'a little area of grass or some bushes was good.'

Fellow locals aren't impressed though. One Williamsburg mother-to-be told MailOnline: 'There is no way I’ll be doing this. I’m all for saving the environment and protecting babies from rashes, but I’m not treating my unborn like a dog!'

And a post today about the practice on FreeWilliamsburg.com generated more scathing remarks from the trendy locale's residents.

'This is disgusting,' one read. You hipsters are animals and are making Williamsburg into a pigpen [sic].'

But for Mrs McGreyes, the benefits far outweigh the negative criticism.

'I had never been so proud,' she said. 'I love that I can tell when he needs to go and have an idea of what might be bothering him.'